Fort Harrison, later renamed Fort Burnham, was an important component of the Confederate defenses of Richmond during the American Civil War. Named after Lieutenant William Harrison, a Confederate engineer, it was the largest in the series of fortifications that extended from New Market Road to the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

that also included Forts Brady, Hoke, Johnson, Gregg, and Gilmer. These earthworks were designed to protect the strategically important

Chaffin's Bluff Chaffin's Bluff is located in Henrico County, Virginia, United States, on the north side of the James River, opposite Drewry's Bluff, long-considered a major defense point of the river below Richmond. Located at a major bend in the river about eig ...

on the James. On September 29, 1864, 2,500 Union soldiers from Major General Benjamin Butler's Army of the James overran Major Richard Cornelius Taylor's 200-man Confederate garrison and captured the fort in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm. Brigadier General Hiram Burnham, a native of Maine and a brigade commander in XVIII Corps, was killed in the assault, and the Union-held fort was renamed Fort Burnham in his honor. Although the attacks of September 29 had succeeded in capturing only Fort Harrison, General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

saw the potential threat to Richmond and ordered a counterattack on September 30. The attack failed, but Brigadier General

George J. Stannard George Jerrison Stannard (October 20, 1820 – June 1, 1886) was a Vermont farmer, teacher, governmental official and Union general in the American Civil War. Early life Stannard was born in Georgia, Vermont, the son of Samuel Stannard and Re ...

lost an arm while resisting Lee's assault. This failure forced the Confederates to realign their defenses farther west. Fort Burnham remained in Union hands until the end of the war. In 1930, members of the Richmond Parks Corporation, a local preservation society, constructed a log cabin on the site to serve as their headquarters. Today, this building serves as the Fort Harrison visitor center, part of Richmond National Battlefield Park. On September 22, 2014, park staff at Richmond National Battlefield Park discovered an artillery shell within the moat of a Confederate fortification known as Fort Gilmer in the park's Fort Harrison battlefield unit. Although it did not explode, the shell was a 12-pound explosive round, possibly used by Confederates at Fort Gilmer as one of several improvised

hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

s rolled down the side of the fort against Union soldiers from the 7th

United States Colored Troops The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...

Gallery

File:Fort Burnham (previously Confederate Fort Harrison) LCCN2012648033.jpg, General view File:Fort Burnham, Va. Encampment and earthworks LOC cwpb.01825.jpg, Encampment and eathworks File:Chapin's Bluff, Virginia (vicinity). (Fort Burnham) LOC cwpb.01954.jpg, Chapin's Bluff near Fort Burnham File:Chapin's Bluff, Virginia (vicinity). Fort Burnham, formerly, Confederate Fort Harrison, near James River LOC cwpb.01949.jpg, Chapin's Bluff File:Chapin's Bluff, Virginia (vicinity). Fort Burnham, formerly, Confederate Fort Harrison, near James River LOC cwpb.01946.jpg, Chapin's Bluff File:Chapin's Bluff, Virginia (vicinity). Fort Burnham, formerly Confederate Fort Harrison, near James River LOC cwpb.01944.jpg, Chapin's Bluff File:Fort Burnham, Va., vicinity. Camp of the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry near the battlefield of Oct. 29, 1864 LOC cwpb.01827.jpg, The camp of the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment near the battlefield on October 29, 1864 File:NPS marker for Fort Harrison.jpg, National Park Service marker for Fort Harrison File:Fort Harrison Virginia interior.jpg, Fort Harrison interior in 2009 {{authority control Harrison Virginia in the American Civil War Parks in Henrico County, Virginia Richmond National Battlefield Park 1861 establishments in Virginia